About Us
The word “trufast” is a Norwegian word which means “faithful”. Our goal at Trufast Tree Service is to offer honest, reliable, and excellent tree services, and to do it in such a way that it is a pleasure for our customers to work with us.
Trufast in numbers.
*We publish the last one on purpose. Seventeen reviews under five stars out of 659 is the number that tells you what the average is actually made of.
How it started.
Trufast Tree Service was founded in 2017 by the owner, Kyle Theobald, and the now VP of Sales and Scheduling, Luke Smith. At the time of founding, there was a gap of service in the Springfield, Missouri market where all but a very select number of tree services were providing excellent service. We felt that by providing faithful, trustworthy service, we could establish a base in the greater Springfield area.
It is still our goal that in every touchpoint, our customer feels safe, respected, clear on the terms of the agreement, and impressed with the attitude and behavior of the crew. While we don’t always get it right, we are determined to make up for it when we understand we’ve messed up.
The naming of Trufast Tree Service is more unique than it looks at first glance. Rather than using the words faithful or fidelity, Kyle decided to use a word from his wife, Linn’s native language to describe the desired ethos of the company.
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The founding of Trufast is also unique because at the time of founding, Kyle Theobald and Luke Smith had only a few months of tree experience. We hired experienced professionals to fill the gaps of knowledge and looked for core members who could bring the expertise we needed as part of a developing leadership team. Throughout the launching years, we kept true to our ethos of excellence and won our place in the area. Luke has become the face of the company as he is the one who currently contacts nearly every customer we service.
We noticed that in general, the service industry has a bad reputation because their approach to service is more selfishly focused. As a result, we’ve been rewarded to see the results via our online reviews and through what our customers tell us! We are extremely grateful to our customers in the Springfield area for welcoming us to the community and inviting us to partner with them in improving their properties.
Every service, one team.
We are a locally-owned company in Southwest Missouri that is enthusiastic about providing safe and expert tree care to keep your trees healthy and promote growth.
Our leaders with names and faces.
CJ Horsey
CJ's been with Trufast since 2020 - our second-longest-tenured crew member. He's an expert climber and CDL driver, and the one the rest of the team leans on to keep every truck and piece of equipment running right. If a job goes smoothly, there's a good chance CJ's part of why. It's a family affair, too - his wife Kelsey works in our office, answering phones and scheduling estimates. Off the clock, CJ's got two young kids at home and still finds time to train dogs for coon hunting and horses.
“CJ communicated their plan and was very pleasant to talk to and knowledgeable about his work... My property was left in better shape than when they arrived.”
Luke Smith
Luke's been with Trufast since the very beginning - our longest-tenured team member. Luke is as honest and straightforward as the working day is long. He handles most of our scheduling and customer service personally, so if you've talked to us before your job started, there's a good chance it was Luke. Off the clock, he loves side-by-side trail running with his two lovely daughters.
“They were fantastic and fair... I spoke to Luke and gave me a very FAIR quote... The crew is very knowledgeable about how to safely remove the tree without it landing in my living room.”
Scott Murphy
Scott leads with people skills — he’s the one who makes sure you know exactly what’s happening on your property and why, every step of the way. Customers notice the difference when someone actually communicates and treats their home like it matters. He’s newly married — feel free to pass along your best marriage advice if you see him on a job.
“Trufast did a great job trimming several large trees and the cleanup was superb. Luke, Scott, and crew are very professional, courteous and thorough. I highly recommend them to care for your trees - they won’t let you down!”
Kyle Theobald
Founded Trufast in 2017 and still owns it. Kyle set the standard the company runs on: quote it honestly, show up when you said you would, and leave the property better than you found it.
“Luke and Kyle are professional, knowledgable, helpful, kind, and the team did a great job on my tree... They can’t be beat!”
Matthew Crider
Matthew leads one of our crews, and it shows in how his guys work together on a job site. Customers notice the difference a well-run, well-led crew makes - that's Matthew's. Matthew has a love for nature and everything outdoors.
“Matthew C and his crew knocked it out in a day. They were great. Cleanup was very thorough and they left no trace behind.”
Thirteen of us in total, and most have been here for years. The office keeps the customers and especially the crew members happy, and the crews serve the customers well.
Verified by someone other than us.
ISA Certified Arborist on staff
Luke Smith holds the International Society of Arboriculture's Certified Arborist credential (#MW-6217A) and is TRAQ-qualified for formal tree risk assessment. His certification is one good reason to trust us.
BBB Accredited, A+ rated
Accredited with the Better Business Bureau and carrying an A+ rating. We have 76 5-star reviews on our BBB page alone and no sub-5-star ratings.
Top 3 tree services in Springfield
Scored highest by Three Best Rated's 50-point inspection for the Springfield area, a comprehensive review that includes reputation, history, complaints, and reviews. This is not paid placement, and we've been selected for 7 years in a row.
Nextdoor Fave, voted by our neighbors
Voted a Nextdoor Fave by our neighbors in 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Want an honest look at your trees?
Free and on-site. We typically call back within 60 minutes during business hours.